Now, of course there are the exceptions: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Hills Have Eyes, House on Haunted Hill, The Blair Witch Project, and The Silence of the Lambs.

But it’s more the exception than the rule that a profitable horror film’s title surpasses two words.

One of the reasons why horror films usually do not have long names is because their budgets are very low, which includes miniscule funds for marketing.

Therefore, a horror film’s title must have a short, graphic name to leave the audience with an instant tone and image.

If you’re asking yourself why, just think about a movie theatre’s marquee, or a newspaper ad. These are the best chances for a smaller-budgeted film to garner audiences. A movie’s name that has stopping power, clarity, and brevity will optimize their chances of profitability.

Moreover, the more descriptive the name in fewer letters, the better. It’s as if a horror film can uniformly integrate an ad’s basic requirements (name, tagline, logo) into one title.

After all, who can dispute the success of that strategy with the following (in order of profitability):